METEOROLOGY

IMPORTANT QUESTION ANSWERS

• Hill (Orographic) Fog
• Hill fog is (usually) stratiform cloud (ST, SC) whose base is lower than
the summit of the hills.
• It may be generated when moist stable air is forced to rise over the
hills (cap cloud) or by the normal turbulence action producing ST and
SC . .
• Steaming Fog (Arctic Smoke)
• Steaming fog, or as it is sometimes called, Arctic Smoke, occurs over sea
in polar regions, e.g. the fjords of Greenland, Iceland and the sea areas
of high latitudes. It is caused by cold air from a land mass moving over a
warmer sea. The small amount of evaporation from the sea is enough to
cause saturation and condensation but the air itself must be very stable.
• The fog can be persistent and up to 500 feet thick - may drift inland. Will
be dispersed by an increase in wind speed or change of direction.
Usually only significant in Arctic regions, but the ‘steam’ may be seen at
any latitude when cold air moves over a wet surface.
Coriolis Force (CF)
• Coriolis Force, (CF), is the force caused by the rotation of the earth.
• It acts 90° to the wind direction causing air to turn to the right or veer in
the Northern Hemisphere and to the left or back in the Southern
hemisphere. CF is maximum at the poles and minimum at the Equator.
• The Coriolis force is not a true force but is an explanation of the effect the
rotation of the earth has on a free moving body not in contact with the
earth. It is the combination of 4 factors.
• It should be noted that the CF is directly proportional to both wind speed
and latitude. So an increase in either will result in an increase in the CF.
• Geostrophic Wind
• The Geostrophic Wind blows parallel to straight isobars.
• Therefore the geostrophic wind can only blow in a straight line.
• If the wind were to follow a curved path, it cannot be considered as a geostrophic wind because
there will be additional forces involved, namely the centrifugal or centripetal forces. The
gradient wind (which will be discussed later) uses the pressure gradient force, the Coriolis force
and the centrifugal force. This is the model for wind which follows a curved path.
• How can we know the direction of the geostrophic wind along the isobar?
• If you remember from earlier lessons, Buys Ballot’s Law told us that in the Northern Hemisphere
with your back to the wind, the low pressure is to your left. In the Southern Hemisphere with
your back to the wind, the low pressure is on your right. Looking at the diagram below and by
using Buys Ballot’s Law, we can see a geostrophic wind direction of 180°.
• The geostrophic wind only blows above the friction layer. Within the
friction layer the wind speed is reduced because of surface friction.
Therefore the Coriolis force will reduce, causing the two forces to be
out of balance.
• Remember that the friction layer varies depending upon the nature of
the surface and the time of the day. Therefore, the height of the
geostrophic wind will vary.
• Generally though it is considered to be between 2000 - 3000 ft .
• With the geostrophic wind the pressure gradient force is equal to the
Coriolis force. So,for the same PGF (or isobar spacing) as latitude
increases the Coriolis force will remain constant so for the same PGF as
latitude increases, sine of latitude also increases and hence the wind
speed will decrease.
• For the wind to be geostrophic, it has to occur:
1. Above the friction layer.
2. At a latitude greater than 15 degrees.
3. When the pressure situation is not changing rapidly.
4. With the isobars straight and parallel.
Significant Weather Symbols
 RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE (RVR)
Instrumented Runway Visual Range (IRVR)
• RVR is the maximum distance that a pilot 15 ft above the runway in the
touchdown area can see marker boards by day or runway lights by night when
looking in the direction of take-of or landing.
• The RVR can be assessed by positioning an observer 76 metres from the centre
line of the runway in the touchdown area to sight the number of marker board
or lights in the appropriate direction. RVR is reported when meteor ological
optical range (MOR) or (I)RVR falls to less than 1500 m, or when shallow fog is
reported or forecast.
• The United Kingdom standard RVR reporting incremental scale is 25 m between
0 and 400 m,50m between 400 and 800 m, and 100 m above 800 m. If traffic is
more or less continuous, readings are taken every 30 minutes, or when a
significant change in the normal visibility occurs.
TORNADOES
• A violent whirl, generally cyclonic in sense, averaging about 100 m in
diameter and with an intense vertical current at the centre, capable of
lifting heavy objects into the air .
• The tornadoes will occur when cold dry air from the northwest meets
warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico over the prairies of central USA
in spring and early summer. 80% of tornadoes occur between 1400 and
2200 with peak incidence at 1700. The precise means of formation of
the ‘twister’ is open to considerable conjecture, but computer
modelling and the use of Doppler radars is making prediction more
certain. Figure 19.19 to Figure 19.22 show how a tornado may form.
• Tornadoes are invariably associated with cumulonimbus clouds and in some cases the
rotation extends to the top of the storm.
• Destructive power of tornadoes lies in the localized reduction in pressure (20 to 200 hPa)
leading to structures exploding and the veryhigh (up to 300 kt) wind speeds in the vortex.
• Tornadoes usually last a matter of minutes, some occasionally last a few hours and move at
speeds upto 40 KTS.
• Increasing use of Doppler radars which will also measure particle speeds within the vortex
is making local tornado warnings more reliable, but still not more than 30 min ahead.
• Tornadoes develop a typical ‘hook’ pattern on the radar screen. Figure 19.24 shows this
radar ‘signature’.
• Within Europe tornadoes are much weaker systems whose maximum diameter is of the
order of 100 m - 150 m, but usually much smaller
Instrumented Runway Visual Range (IRVR)
• Three Transmissometers are positioned alongside the runway.
• A transmissometer comprises a light source transmitter and photo-
electric cell receiver which are separated from each other.
• The strength of current in the receiver is dependent on the clarity of
the air between the transmitter and the receiver.
• IRVR is reported when the normal visibility is 1500 metres or less, or
when shallow fog is reported or forecast.
• Readings are sent to ATC. Three readings can be given, one each for
touch-down zone, midpoint and stop-end, e.g.: R28L / 600 400 550.
VOLCANIC ASH
ICAO in conjunction with WMO has established 9 volcanic ash advisory
centres (VAAC) .
These centres are operated by the national meteorological services of
the countries and are responsible for detecting volcanic ash clouds and
tracking and forecasting future movement of the clouds both
horizontally and vertically.
A ASHTAM is given for volcanic ash .
VA is volcanic ash in a SIGMET .
Ceilometers
• A cloud base recorder or ceilometer is a device that uses a laser or other light source to determine the height
of a cloud base.
• There are several types of ceilometers depending on whether a normal light source or a laser light source is
used.
• The first type of ceilometer uses a normal light source.
• There a several versions of such ceilometers.
• The optical drum ceilometer consists essentially of a projector, a detector, and a recorder.
• The projector emits an intense beam of light into the sky.
• The detector, located at a fixed distance from the projector, uses a photoelectric cell to detect the projected
light when it is reflected from clouds. In the fixed-beam ceilometer, the light is beamed vertically into the sky
by the projector and the detector is aligned at various angles to intercept the reflected light; in the rotating-
beam ceilometer, the detector is positioned vertically and the light projected at various angles. In either
case, trigonometry is used to determine the altitude of the clouds reflecting the light from a knowledge of
the angle at which the light is detected and the distance between the projector and detector.
• The recorder is calibrated to indicate cloud height directly.
Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centres (TCAC)

• Six regional specialized meteorological centres (RSMCs) have been

established to monitor, track
• and advise on tropical cyclones within their areas of responsibility.
Additionally around the Australia area 6 tropical cyclone warning
centres (TCWCs) exist to provide the same function (see map) .
• These centres will issue warning messages which the meteorological
watch office may reissue as SIGMET (WC).
• This wind is part valley and part katabatic.
• It blows down the north Adriatic with high pressure over Central
Europe and the Balkans and a low over the Adriatic.
• The wind speed is around 70 kt with great gusts exceeding 100 kt in
places. The Bora is strongest and most frequent in winter. Note: EASA
examine this as a katabatic wind
Land and Sea Breezes

• Sea breezes. On a sunny day, particularly in an anticyclone with a light PGF, the land will
heat quickly.
• The air in contact will be warmed and will rise and expand so that pressure at about 1000
ft will be higher than pressure at the same level over the sea. This will cause a drift of air
from over the land to over the sea at about 1000 ft. The drift of air will cause the surface
pressure over the land to fall, and the surface pressure over the sea to rise.
• As a result there will be a flow of air from sea to land - a sea breeze.
• On average, sea breezes extend 8 to 14 NM either side of the coast and the speed is about
• 10 kt. In the tropics speed is 15 kt or more and the inland extent is greater.
• The direction of the sea breeze is more or less at right angles to the coast, but after some
time
• it will veer under the influence of the Coriolis Force .
Land breezes
• From mid-afternoon the land is starting to cool and this process will
accelerate after sunset.
• Overnight the situation will reverse and pressure will now be higher
on land than over the sea as the temperature reduces. This will give
rise to a wind now blowing from land to sea, the land breeze. The
land breeze can be expected within about 5 NM of the coastline and
with a maximum speed of about 5 kt.